Device with heat transfer portion

Abstract

A subsea electronic device includes a housing, a chassis within the housing to which one or more electronic cards are mounted and heat transfer sections in thermal contact with the electronic cards. The heat transfer sections are in interference fit with an inner surface of the housing thereby to transfer, in use, heat from the electronic cards through the heat transfer sections to the housing. There is also a subsea electronic device housing and a method of assembling a subsea electronic device.

The invention claimed is: 
     
       1. A subsea electronic device comprising:
 a thermally conductive hollow subsea housing; 
 a thermally conductive chassis disposed within the housing; 
 one or more electronic elements mounted to and in thermal contact with said chassis; and 
 plural heat transfer structures disposed between said chassis and an inner surface of said housing, said heat transfer structures being in thermal contact with the inside surface of the housing and the chassis thereby providing thermal conduction from the one or more electronic elements to said subsea housing; 
 wherein 
 the heat transfer structures are in interference fit with said inner surface of the housing thereby to transfer, in use, heat from the one or more electronic elements through the heat transfer structures to the housing; 
 at least one of the electronic elements comprises a circuit board clamped along at least one of its sides to the chassis between a pair of elongate clamping surfaces in thermal contact with the circuit board and with the chassis; 
 the circuit board comprises a thermally conductive layer across at least a portion thereof, which thermally conductive layer is in thermal contact with the chassis; 
 at least part of each heat transfer structure is movable relative to at least a portion of the chassis to create the interference fit; and 
 each heat transfer structure comprises a wedge-shaped adjustment member configured to urge the at least part of the heat transfer structure away from the chassis and against the inner surface. 
 
     
     
       2. The subsea electronic device according to  claim 1 , wherein the wedge-shaped adjustment member comprises one or more thermally conductive wedge locks. 
     
     
       3. The subsea electronic device according to  claim 1 , wherein each heat transfer structure comprises a deformable region configured to deform, in use, as it is urged against the inner surface. 
     
     
       4. The subsea electronic device according to  claim 3 , wherein each heat transfer structure comprises a recess or depression defining at least in part the deformable region. 
     
     
       5. The subsea electronic device according to  claim 1 , wherein
 each heat transfer structure comprises two or more heat transfer elements with a respective recess or depression between each pair, and 
 each of the heat transfer elements is in thermal contact with the one or more electronic elements and in interference fit with the inner surface of the housing. 
 
     
     
       6. The subsea electronic device according to  claim 1  comprising two heat transfer structures, one on each of opposite sides of the chassis each of which heat transfer structures is in thermal contact with the one or more electronic elements and in interference fit with a corresponding inner surface of the housing. 
     
     
       7. The subsea electronic device according to  claim 1  comprising three or more heat transfer structures disposed about the periphery of the chassis, each of which is in thermal contact with the one or more electronic elements and in interference fit with a corresponding inner surface of the housing. 
     
     
       8. The subsea electronic device according to  claim 1 , wherein the circuit board is clamped along two opposed sides to the chassis between respective pairs of elongate clamping surfaces in thermal contact with the circuit board and with the chassis. 
     
     
       9. The subsea electronic device according to  claim 1  comprising a thermally conductive wedge lock for clamping at least one side of the circuit board. 
     
     
       10. The subsea electronic device according to  claim 1 , wherein the thermally conductive layer is in thermal contact with the chassis via one or more thermally conductive contact elements on an external surface of the circuit board. 
     
     
       11. The subsea electronic device according to  claim 1 , wherein the thermally conductive layer is in thermal contact with the chassis via two thermally conductive contact elements each on a respective external major surface of the circuit board. 
     
     
       12. The subsea electronic device according to  claim 1 , wherein the thermally conductive layer comprises copper. 
     
     
       13. The subsea electronic device according to  claim 1 , wherein the housing comprises a hollow cylindrical housing and the heat transfer structures each comprise a curved surface in interference fit with an internal cylindrical surface of the housing. 
     
     
       14. A heat transfer device for use as one of the heat transfer structure in the subsea electronic device according to  claim 1 . 
     
     
       15. The chassis for use in the subsea electronic device according to  claim 1 , the chassis comprising one or more elongated slots for receiving an elongated edge of the circuit board and a clamping member configured to clamp, in use, one or more elongated circuit board edges within a respective elongated slot and in thermal contact with the chassis. 
     
     
       16. The circuit board for use in the subsea electronic device according to  claim 1 , the circuit board comprising an integrally embedded thermally conductive layer in thermal contact with thermally conductive contact elements on each external major surface of the circuit board for transmitting heat generated, in use, across the circuit board. 
     
     
       17. A subsea electronic device housing assembly comprising:
 a thermally conductive hollow subsea housing; 
 a thermally conductive chassis disposed within the housing; 
 one or more electronic elements mounted to and in thermal contact with said chassis; and 
 plural heat transfer structures disposed between said chassis and an inner surface of said housing, said heat transfer structures being in thermal contact with the chassis; 
 wherein 
 the heat transfer structures are in interference fit with the inner surface of the housing to enable heat to be transferred, in use, from one or more electronic elements mounted to the chassis through the heat transfer structures to the housing; 
 at least one of the electronic elements comprises a circuit board clamped along at least one of its sides to the chassis between a pair of elongate clamping surfaces in thermal contact with the circuit board and with the chassis; 
 the circuit board comprises a thermally conductive layer across at least a portion thereof, which thermally conductive layer is in thermal contact with the chassis; 
 at least part of each heat transfer structure is movable relative to at least a portion of the chassis to create the interference fit; and 
 each heat transfer structure comprises a wedge-shaped adjustment member configured to urge the at least part of the heat transfer structure away from the chassis and against the inner surface. 
 
     
     
       18. A method of assembling a subsea electronic device comprising:
 mounting one or more circuit boards carrying electronic elements to and in thermal contact with a chassis; 
 inserting the chassis and plural heat transfer structures disposed about the periphery of the chassis into a hollow subsea housing that is in thermal contact with the one or more electronic elements via a thermally conducting layer; and 
 urging the heat transfer structures into an interference fit against an inner surface of the housing such that heat generated from the one or more electronic elements is transferred via the thermally conducting layer through the heat transfer structures to the housing; 
 wherein at least part of each heat transfer structure is urged away from the chassis and against the inner surface of the housing by an adjustment member to create said interference fit. 
 
     
     
       19. The method according to  claim 18 , wherein the step of mounting one or more electronic elements comprises clamping an elongate edge of each of one or more circuit boards into a respective elongate slot in the chassis between a pair of elongate clamping surfaces. 
     
     
       20. The method according to  claim 19  comprising: clamping a thermally conductive contact element on an elongated edge of at least one circuit board to cause the thermally conductive layer to be in thermal contact with the thermally conductive contact element to be in thermal contact with the chassis.